


On The Mend

by ShaneDarkwin



Series: Pick Up The Pieces [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra is trying her best, Drabble, Friendship, Gen, Healing, Light Angst, Post-Canon, Some Humor, Unresolved Tension, adora is a people pleaser, bow is losing his mind, end of war meetings can be hard, everyone is losing their mind, frosta spitting straight facts so bow can catch a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25023664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShaneDarkwin/pseuds/ShaneDarkwin
Summary: The war may be over, but there's much work left for the Alliance. Bullet points for today's meeting include: vote on Clone Rights Bill, mediate a shouting match, stop the Princesses from tearing each other apart, listen to each others' feelings. No one ever said how difficult winning could be, but they make it work. Somehow.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: Pick Up The Pieces [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811896
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	On The Mend

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! there's a lot of good takes on post-canon developments out there and this is just some of my open questions/thoughts on different topics and relationships. 
> 
> you can always come find me on tumblr @razzle-dazz to swap headcannons and just talk she-ra. i have feelings. 
> 
> what exactly the tone of this is supposed to be i don't know either but here we are. some swearing up ahead (that's why it's teen), some light reading between the lines, and a lot of mixed emotions. hope you enjoy!

Since the end of the war many things had changed. Some changes were quite massive, like the question of what was to come of the Alliance, now that there was no lethal threat looming over Etheria and no common enemy to fight. Others were fairly simple, one might even say superfluous, like the problematic nomenclature of the War Room in Bright Moon castle. Like every so often in life, though, both big and small issues were somehow linked. And so it came that once a unanimous decision to keep up relations between kingdoms had been reached, the conference room was renamed to Alliance Chambers. The name fit the purpose and rid the room's air of "needlessly violent connotations", as Perfuma had put it. Most of the other Princesses had shown varying degrees of indifference about the update, Scorpia being the supportive end of the spectrum and Mermista portraying the opposite with an eyeroll. Her suggestions of cooler names ( _"Power Cave_ " and " _Super Secret Princess Lair_ ") were backed up by only Frosta, and thus demented. Decisions were mostly made in this democratic manner now, at least for the time being while power dynamics were still in a delicate topic. 

"Well, I just don't think it's really a viable solution to the problem."

"So? We voted on all your other boring stuff, too." 

"That's not why-"

"Hey, ladies," Bow interjected, carefully leaning into Glimmer and Mermista's line of sight, "we're all on the same team here, remember?" 

" _Twinkle_ over here just doesn't want something to pass that goes against her will," Mermista ignored him without a hitch. 

"I actually value everyone's right to-" 

"Why don't we just hold that vote?" Adora cut in. She was too busy grinning awkwardly at the softly mumbled agreement she received from the rest of the princessess to notice Glimmer glaring daggers at her. 

Bow rose from his seat. 

"Everyone in favour of granting the Prime clones the opportunity to reside in a region of their choosing and self-govern, under supervision of an appointed counselor, please raise your hand," he presented option number one and earned a quiet groan from Mermista at the stress of the supervision concept. Glimmer's hand shot up right away, Perfuma following suit, albeit a tad more hesitantly. Scorpia, being the newest addition to the Alliance and generally in favour of everything that granted someone a second chance, raised her pincer alongside them. So did Spinerella, much to her wife's surprise and obvious distaste if the whispered " _What the hell, Spinny"_ was anything to go by. The two sunk into a tensely hushed discussion as Bow presented the counter proposal. 

"All those in favour of the counter proposal to send the clones out across Etheria, assissting Princess Entrapta's bot workforce in rebuilding damaged regions, please raise your hand." 

His brow furrowed in concentration as he counted, then knotted when he came up with two hands, one ice pincer (it was Frosta's favourite go-to whenever she felt the need to convey strong emotions about a topic without accidentally breaking a table by slamming an ice fist into it) and a glove. 

"I'm afraid that's a tie," Bow stated and the room erupted into chaos. 

Across the table, Spinnerella and Netossa's low bickering had suddenly turned into a full-blown argument, and Glimmer and Mermista apparently took that as a sign to resume their earlier clinch. Entrapta seemed entirely out of her depth, chirping away into her recorder about a " _social experiment getting out of hand_ " while Scorpia and Perfuma tried to coerse Frosta into changing her mind with very limited success. The only people who really had the power to change this decision's outcome stayed suspiciously quiet. But when Glimmer turned on Entrapta, accusing her of hypocrisy (" _You vouched for Hordak and Wrong Hordak but are willing to throw everyone else under the bus!?_ "), their days were numbered, too. 

"It's not me who didn't stick to the rules we agreed upon. I presented my arguments in compliance to your structure of discussion. It's them who evaded the vote!" she defended herself and pointed a finger at the end of the table where Adora, Bow, Catra and Micah were sat. Adora went red, Bow pale, Micah broke into an embarrassed grin and Catra straight up disappeared from where she was tucked into Adora's lap, thanks to her loyal companion Melog. 

The shouting died down at once as Entrapta's word sunk in for the others. 

"Yeah, why didn't you give your vote, Tech Master?" Netossa challenged Bow, eyes narrowed. Her icy tone earned her a nudge from Spinnerella. 

Poor Bow looked like he was about to faint right then and there. Though he was no princess nor ruler of his own kingdom, due to his deeds to the rebellion and role in freeing Etheria he had been proclaimed an honorary member of the new Alliance. His position was one of an advisor sometimes, a mediator almost all the time, by his own choice. He used his voice only when he deemed it necessary and never made decisions lightly. Being caught in the crossfire like this was his own personal hell. 

From beside him, Glimmer put a hand on his forearm. "It's okay, Bow, you can tell us what you really think," she assured him, her voice warm and gentle just like her expression when he locked eyes with her. A timid smile stole its way on his lips. Bow exhaled softly as if to steady himself, then said: "I think we should send them with Entrapta." and immediately cringed at the shrill gasp to his right. He could hear Mermista snickering and knew without peeking that the Queen of Bright Moon was about to unleash her frustration once more when her father cautiously intercepted.

"For what it's worth, I think it's fantastic that you and Bow respect each other despite having different opinions at times," Micah said and glanced at Perfuma who was giving him a beaming thumbs-up. He had sought out everyone's advice on correctly rekindling his relationship with his daughter and though he trusted Spinnerella's the most, Perfuma had helped him a great deal in overcoming guilt after spending his first reunion with Glimmer trying to kill her due to a chip. "But I want you to know that I'm 100% with you on this one, honey," he smiled. 

Glimmer blinked, turned her head from Micah to Bow and then back again, her brain short-circuiting. Before she could regain her cerebral functions the angry discourse around her swole anew, engulfing the room. 

"...know him like I do!", Entrapta cried, her fists at her sides as she hung in the air suspended by hair. 

"That doesn't change the fact he _destroyed_ my entire kingdom!" Mermista yelled back. She had both her hands firmly pressed against the table and looked just one out-of-place comment away from leaping over it. 

"I mean, well, Catra and I actually organised a huge part of that, too, kind of…" Scorpia reminded her truthfully, yet not-so-helpfully. 

"And I never said I forgot that, either!" "But you defected before they took Salenias," Perfuma said, more to remind Mermista than Scorpia herself, "You're our friend, you've changed!" 

"That's what I keep saying about Hordak!" 

"He certainly is no friend of mine…" Mermista muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking around the room. She had lost all interest in the on-going shouting match. They had glossed over the Hordak/Catra/Horde debate several times since the end of the war, but it still seemed like everyone was so engrossed in celebrating victory that they seemed to have conveniently forgotten about the gravity of the situation requiring a victory in the first place. Some days Mermista felt like she was the only one still mourning their losses. 

Between the arguing, sulking, general losing of minds, no one noticed Adora slowly sinking lower and lower into her seat until the table swallowed her and she flopped down onto the floor with an unceremonious 'thud'.

Only a few feet away, a whole other debate was raging on between the married couple. 

"... could trust me on that, don't you think I should know best?" 

"That's what I don't get! Why would you still take their side after everything we've been through?!" 

"Maybe if you asked-"

Back under the table, Catra could barely stifle her giggle at the sight of Adora wincing as she landed on her butt. Although the sound of her laugh still made Adora's stomach flutter, they couldn't afford to get caught right now, and so she clamped a hand over her girlfriend's mouth. Unfortunately, it did little to improve the situation, since Adora caught the mischief in Catra's eyes too late and squeaked when a warm tongue grazed against the palm of her hand. Even Melog's magic couldn't keep their cover from getting blown when the world above them suddenly stilled. They both held their breaths, hoping, daring to hope that… 

"Adora, Catra, get out of there, we know you're under the goddamn table." 

Busted. 

Adora's chair scraped over the floor with a comically loud whine to reveal nothing for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, the pair appeared with Catra's alien cat at their side, heads hung. 

"You're not getting away that easily. It's still tied," Glimmer said, doing her best to keep her voice level and failing miserably, "so you better think hard before casting a vote." 

"Uh, about that," Adora drew out her words, squinting in perfect Adora fashion. Her plea was ignored when Mermista stepped up to the table. 

"You can't do that," she said flat out, "you're influencing them."

"Am not!" Glimmer argued maturely. 

"Are too!" Mermista fired back in equally adult manner.

"This democracy bullshit is clearly not working out! I am still _Queen_ Glimmer, and as your queen I-" 

"Maybe we should let She-Ra decide about this then, if it so clearly isn't working the other way."

Adora frantically shook her head, making a cross with her arms and twisting her face into her most expressive ' _fuck no, abort_ ' grimace, but it was too late. And at last, the Queen reached her breaking point. 

"You can't just pull the She-Ra card anytime you don't like one of my decisions!" she yelled, face now matching the pink of her robe. 

"Well, maybe you should make better decisions then, _your Majesity_ ," Mermista retorted. 

"Hey, you guys…" Bow tried to calm the waters and was instantly drowned. 

"Stay out of it!" both of them snapped and Bow's face fell. Adora empathically patted his shoulder as they continued to helplessly watch the anger tear the Alliance to shreds. 

"That's is why this will never work," Mermista said and turned, "you can't get off your high horse and treat us like an equal, and unless you do that, I'm out." 

"If you want me to treat you like an equal, maybe don't act like a child and sulk every time someone doesn't agree with you!" 

There was a scatter of ooh's and sharp intakes of breath, Frosta even shouting " _Burn!_ ", but neither the Princess or Queen seemed to take notice. 

" _I'm_ the childish one?" The laugh that accompanied her question was dry and humourless. Because Mermista kept her head tilted towards the ground, the concerned looks that flitted between parties at eye-level went past her. Glimmer looked unsettled, but not enough to let go of her point just yet. 

"Well-" 

" _You_ weren't even here when Prime's goons tore apart Etheria." The rage vanished from Glimmer's face in an instant. 

" _You_ weren't there when he picked us off, one by one." Mermista's voice lost volume, but the sudden silence of the room rose to match it nonetheless. 

" _You_ didn't get a chip implanted into your neck and were forced to watch from behind your own two eyes as your friends destroyed whatever, whoever was in their path," she whipped around to stare the now wide-eyed Queen in the face. "And you didn't have to watch _yourself_ do that." 

The small gasp came from Perfuma whose eyes widened as she looked at Scorpia for confirmation. Adora's were just as wide, carefully searching for an answer in Catra's profile who was unwilling or unable to meet her girlfriend's eyes. Glimmer's guilt was tangible as her gaze darted from Mermista to her father. The only ones who seemed to have known beforehand were Netossa and Spinerella, clinging to one another as if they were a lifeboat in an unforgiving sea that threatened to swallow them if they let go. Entrapta looked like she was bursting to add this newfound knowledge to a log, but restrained herself in the light of the emotional weight of the revelation. 

If Mermista was aware of the impact her words had on her friends, it didn't show. Instead, she hugged herself close and walked past Glimmer without another word, heading straight for the door. 

"Maybe we didn't live it," Frosta broke the silence, voice a little unsteady yet determined, "but we were still on the other side of it. We got you out. Without Entrapta we couldn't have done it. Without Perfuma never giving up on Scorpia, we couldn't have done. Without Adora going back for Catra we wouldn't even have known you can shut those damn things off. Hell, without Sea Hawk risking his life to get through to you and Glimmer taking on her dad we probably would have all been wiped out by you two!"

Mermista stopped a couple of steps short of the heavy doors to the hall. Frosta took a stern breath. 

"It's hard, trusting in this. That this could work. It's why I didn't want to join you guys in the first place. But ever since the Battle for Bright Moon I know, I know, that we can handle everything the universe throws at us if we're together. So please," her short legs carried her the distance in no time and Frosta gently took Mermista's hand in her own ,"don't go." 

A slow, mute shuffle rippled through the room as one after the other, all of the princesses gravitated towards the pair. They huddled together, standing in silent compassion to share the weight of the unspeakable. 

"Wow, alright, you guys, I'm staying. Get out of my personal space now," the sea princess groaned eventually and the others graciously pretended not to see the tear streaks starting to dry on her cheeks. 

Once everyone had settle downed in their respective chairs, Adora stood again. 

"I want to propose an alternative," she announced and the cleared her throat when no one stopped her. "Why don't we, uh, just do both?" 

Confusion stared back at her and Adora went red for a second time that meeting. She was about to apologise for getting into something outside her area of expertise, she had held back from voicing her opinion a lot since she was a soldier, not a politician, when Catra jumped to her rescue. 

"It sounds like a idiotic suggestion because it's what everyone wants," she conceded, not exactly making Adora feel any better, "but Adora has a point." This did put a smile on her face. "I spent a lot of time with Wrong Hordak on our way back, and he was a blank piece of paper. They all are right now, and if we make them choose what they'll have for dinner we might accidentally break them. We can't expect them to decide where to settle for what could be the rest of their lives."

"Oh, oh, I see where you're going!" Bow exclaimed. "If we send them with Entrapta first, they can repay the people they hurt by rebuilding and simultaneously expand their horizons and develop a personality! This way everybody wins!" 

The three of them looked at around the table expectantly, Bow with a child-like excitement and Adora in anxious anticipation. Then Glimmer nodded. 

"We'd appease the people of Etheria who would feel wronged if they went unpunished… ," she pondered. 

"... and soothe the worries of those concerned about the clones' rights, or whatever," Mermista finished. 

"So we have an agreement?" Bow asked hopefully and received nodding heads and a shrugged ' _I guess_ ' in response. 

They closed the meeting not long after. Before everyone could take their leave, Catra wandered over to Mermista and Glimmer as casually as one could, waiting for the queen to end the conversation. As soon as she did, Catra took a deep breath and then the plunge. 

"Mermista," she said and felt her ears bend back and tail go rigid at the dirty glare she received. It was to be expected, however, so she forced herself to power through. "I just wanted to tell you, if you ever want to, uh, talk, or whatever, about the chip thing, I'm-" 

"Ugh, what? 'Here for you'? Yeah, thanks, I'll pass," the princess shot her down with an eyeroll. Catra didn't stop her when she walked away. 


End file.
